Susan Kennard

Susan Kennard is the Director & Executive Producer of The Banff New Media Institute. Prior to her work with The Banff Centre, Susan worked in television as an associate producer for the International Hour, CBC Newsworld, and Dateline NBC, and in radio as a writer/broadcaster for CBC Radio and as station manager for CKIZ radio in Pincher Creek, Alberta. She has extensive experience in policy development, training, and advocacy for the not-for-profit community radio sector across Canada, and is the co-founder of radio90.fm, a hybrid net/fm pirate radio station.

In June 2005, Susan concluded a master’s degree in Communication for Development from the University of Malmo, Sweden, completing a thesis on the relationship between contemporary art practice, social change and civil society in post-war Sarajevo. In October 2005 this research was published in the online magazine Global Tider and has since been featured in the "strategic thinking" section of the Communication for Development online portal www.comminit.com

She is a member of the Department of Canadian Heritage's Culture.ca Advisory Committee, a member of the 2005/2006 Media Arts Advisory Committee for the Canada Council and on the international jury of the Banff World Television Festival. Susan is also a co-director of the Interactive Project Lab, a national bilingual new media accelerator program in partnership with The Canadian Film Centre (Toronto) and L'institue Image et du Son (Montreal).